Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Since I posted a prayer request for our little girl, I thought you might want to hear how our cardiology appointment went. They did another fetal echo to look at her heart (just a fancy ultrasound). After far too long on a very uncomfortable table, 77 images, and some waiting, we found out that her heart is doing very well. The doctor explained that fetal echo technology really isn't advanced enough to be able to accurately diagnosis the problems we are investigating. If her aortic arch is indeed on the right, versus the left, side of her body, that's not something to be concerned about. Apparently 5-10% of the population has a right-sided aortic arch. The fact that the two arteries leaving the heart may be connected is also not something to be concerned about for now. She should be able to undergo a normal delivery and do the usual cuddling and breastfeeding. As she goes off for her bath, the cardiologist will come to the nursery and do an echo (much easier to see the arteries when my belly, uterus and placenta are not in the way). If indeed the arteries are connected, she would need surgery to place something in there to separate them. This would be a one-time fix. Not sure if this would be done immediately or a little later. He didn't seem inclined to explain the "what if" scenario, mostly I think because he's not sure there's even a connection there. We are feeling really blessed right now. God is amazing. Even if she needs surgery, I'm certain that His hands are capable of carrying her during that as well. Thank you for all your concern and prayers.